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Cited by 97Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactantsMicrobial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionMicrobial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation

Engineering Microbial Consortia towards Bioremediation

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Li, Xianglong, Wu, Shanghua, Dong, Yuzhu, Fan, Haonan, Bai, Zhihui, Zhuang, Xuliang·2021·Water
DOI 10.3390/w13202928
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Abstract

Bioremediation is a sustainable remediation technology as it utilizes microorganisms to convert hazardous compounds into their less toxic or non-toxic constituent elements. This technology has achieved some success in the past decades; however, factors involving microbial consortia, such as microbial assembly, functional interactions, and the role of member species, hinder its development. Microbial consortia may be engineered to reconfigure metabolic pathways and reprogram social interactions to get the desired function, thereby providing solutions to its inherent problems. The engineering of microbial consortia is commonly applied for the commercial production of biomolecules. However, in the field of bioremediation, the engineering of microbial consortia needs to be emphasized. In this review, we will discuss the molecular and ecological mechanisms of engineering microbial consortia with a particular focus on metabolic cross-feeding within species and the transfer of metabolites. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of top-down and bottom-up approaches of engineering microbial consortia and their applications in bioremediation.

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Crossref · 10.3390/w13202928

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  • Engineered microbes may persist beyond their intended application sites, leading to unpredictable interactions with native microbial communities and potential ecological imbalances.

    “Engineered microbes may persist beyond their intended application sites, leading to unpredictable interactions with native microbial communities and potential ecological imbalances [198,201,202,252].”

    From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [202]

    Section 2.2 says microbial interactions can change with environmental conditions and that limited knowledge of those changes hinders bioremediation. The Introduction also says microbial interactions can alter the function of a community. Neither passage says engineered microbes persist beyond application sites or cause ecological imbalances in native communities. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Engineered microbes may persist beyond their intended application sites, leading to unpredictable interactions with native microbial communities and potential ecological imbalances.

    “Engineered microbes may persist beyond their intended application sites, leading to unpredictable interactions with native microbial communities and potential ecological imbalances [198,201,202,252].”

    From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [201]

    Section 2.2 says interactions within microbial consortia can change with environmental conditions and that limited knowledge of those changes hinders bioremediation. It does not say engineered microbes persist beyond application sites, interact unpredictably with native communities, or cause ecological imbalances. Our copy provides no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.77)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Bottom-up engineering allows for the creation and optimization of microbial consortiums for bioremediation of complex pollutants, but challenges arise due to inaccurate or incomplete data.

    “Bottom-up engineering allows for the creation and optimization of microbial consortiums for bioremediation of complex pollutants, but challenges arise due to inaccurate or incomplete data [198,201,202].”

    From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [201]

  • Bottom-up engineering allows for the creation and optimization of microbial consortiums for bioremediation of complex pollutants, but challenges arise due to inaccurate or incomplete data.

    “Bottom-up engineering allows for the creation and optimization of microbial consortiums for bioremediation of complex pollutants, but challenges arise due to inaccurate or incomplete data [198,201,202].”

    From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [202]

  • Deinococcus radiodurans reduces the bioavailability and associated risks of hazardous radioactive substances by absorbing them.

    “Deinococcus radiodurans reduces the bioavailability and associated risks of hazardous radioactive substances by absorbing them, thereby cleansing the environment [198,201,202].”

    From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [201]

    The Heavy Metals section discusses biofilm binding of heavy-metal ions and reduction of Cr(VI), but does not address Deinococcus radiodurans or radioactive substances. Searches for the species and for radioactive-substance absorption found no relevant passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Li, X., Wu, S., Dong, Y., Fan, H., Bai, Z., & Zhuang, X.
Affiliations
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Corresponding author
Zhuang, Xuliang
ORCID
Venue
Water
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-10-19
Volume
13
Issue
20
Pages
2928
ISSN
2073-4441 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/w13202928
OpenAlex
W3207785135
Cited by
97
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7
FWCI
1.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Water (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFC1805803)
  • Science and Technology Service Network Initiative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KFJ-STS-ZDTP-064)
  • the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91951108, 41907273 and 31670507)
  • the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy (XDA23010400)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
Keywords
microbial consortia, bioremediation, cross-feeding, metabolic pathway engineering

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